Dear friends and neighbors,
Thank you to everyone who came out for coffee and conversation with Rep. Bronoske and me on October 10th at Burs Restaurant in Lakewood. We had a great conversation about the issues that matter most to you such as stabilizing and reducing the cost of living, ways to assist children with disabilities have outdoor areas, sustaining our environment, providing community opportunities for healthy activities for youth as well as improve transit options to those activities, improving economic mobility for working families, and addressing public safety.
Last month, I was also honored to gather with Pierce County and City of Lakewood leaders, as well as my legislative colleagues, to meet with a delegation from Korea to discuss opportunities to address senior housing challenges in Pierce County.
Post-Secondary Education & Workforce Development
The work we’ve achieved together this year has made higher education and technical training more attainable than ever before. Providing a path out of poverty, supporting student basic needs and financial aid, and directing students toward in-demand careers is a formula for success.
We’ve reduced workforce shortages and made higher education and technical training more attainable by streamlining licensing requirements for military spouses (HB 1009), streamlining health care and behavioral health professional licensing (HB 1724, HB 1503, HB 1287), and increasing demand for apprentices (HB 1050). We expanded the workforce pipeline by creating more educational opportunities with college in the high school programs (SB 5048), extending applied doctoral degrees to regional universities (HB 1030), increasing financial aid opportunities for students (HB 1289, HB 1763, HB 1823, SB 5702), and providing childcare for those in apprenticeship training (HB 1525). We also made a large effort this year to address the nursing workforce shortage by reducing barriers and expanding educational opportunities in this field with Senate Bill 5582.
My colleagues and I put special attention toward funding that ensures everyone has the support they need to get a degree or credential, whether you’re an individual with low income, the first in your family to go to college, or a parent returning to school. Investing in the people of our state helps everyone thrive and grows our workforce for the future. This year we expanded higher education support with $795 million in compensation, as well as $48 million for health care workforce training, $35 million for dual credit programs, $90 million funding the graduate student loan program, $8 million to meet student basic needs, and $13 million to expand the WA College Grant. The Capital Budget provides $1.5 billion for construction and maintenance of facilities at community and technical colleges and four-year universities.
Stay In Touch
Supporting students in all aspects of their educational journey is only possible because of the feedback and support of our community. As we move forward, I encourage you to stay involved, stay informed, and continue advocating for the issues that matter to you such as education. Please consider sharing what issues you care most about in this two-minute survey. Your feedback will help inform my work on your behalf. Thank you for all you do!
Always at your service,
State Representative Mari Leavitt
28th Legislative District